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"Blow to HIV sufferers"
The
Star (www.thestar.com.my)
(14/04/07)
Howard wants to stop them from moving to Australia
MELBOURNE: PrimeMinister John Howard said yesterday that people with the
AIDS virus sh-ould not be allowed to migrate to Australia, and that the
government was investigating whether it could tighten existing restrictions.
The comments triggered anger among AIDS workers, who ac-cused Howard of
xenophobia and of blaming sufferers for their illness.
Asked in a radio interview whether people with HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS, should be allowed into Australia as mi-grants or refugees, Howard said
he would like to take “more counsel” on the issue, but added, “My initial
reaction is no.”
He said that there may be “humanitarian considerations” in certain cases.
“I think we should have the most stringent possible conditions in relation
to that nationwide, and I know the health minister is concerned about that
and is examining ways of tightening things up,” Howard said.
Howard was asked about the issue during a visit here, the capital of
Victoria state, where the state health minister said this week that 70 of
the 334 new HIV infection cases reported in Vic-toria in 2006 were among
immigrants who had arrived in the country with the virus.
Don Baxter of the non-government group the Australian Fede-ration of AIDS
Organisations said HIV tests were already among health checks prospective
immigrants were given, and most HIV-positive applicants were rejected on the
grounds that they could pose an unfair burden on the public health system.
“It's very tight already,” Baxter told Australian Broadcasting Cor-poration
radio.
Dr Chris Lemoh, an infectious disease specialist who is working on a
doctorate on the spread of AIDS among African immigrants in Victoria, said
excluding people with HIV should be condemned.
“It's a hysterical overreaction, it mixes racism with a phobia about
infectious disease.
“To not allow people to come on the basis of any health condition is
immoral, it's unethical and it's impractical to enforce,” he said.
Many countries, including the United States, impose restrictions on
immigration and visa ap-provals for people with HIV, although there are
often exceptions in special cases. — AP
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